What I’m Reading: Amish Vampires in Space

If you’ve visited a Christian bookstore in the last decade, you’ve no doubt noticed Amish fiction is as ubiquitous as strapless wedding gowns in bridal boutiques. While both options are nice, their domination is monotonous. Enter Amish Vampires in Space by Kerry Nietz and his unexpected, sci-fi take on bonnet fiction.

Many years in the future, a group of Amish have colonized the planet Alabaster. However, the planet’s sun is dying, so Jebediah Miller activates an emergency beacon that alerts a nearby cargo ship, the Raven. Meanwhile, the Raven loads some mysterious cargo.

On Alabaster, Jebediah is shunned for using the life-saving technology. Shuttles from the Raven arrive to evacuate the Amish, but the deacons resist leaving, even though staying would mean death. Jebediah convinces his people to leave and make a new home on another planet.

The journey from Alabaster begins, and the Amish are sequestered in special accommodations away from the Raven’s crew. Because Jebediah is shunned, he and his pregnant wife have a room in another part of the ship. This is fortunate for them because the Amish quarters are near the mysterious cargo. Soon many Amish display rebellious and violent behavior. The deacons blame sin, mingling with the English, and the technology, but some of the Raven’s crew members show the same symptoms.

After the problem worsens, a member of the crew’s medical team discovers the Amish and crew are being turned into vampires. The Amish who are not afflicted must abandon their pacifist ways and join the Raven’s remaining crew members in a fight for survival before the ship arrives at its destination.

This book is well done and entertaining. It tackles some biblical problems with Amish beliefs, such as pacifism, good works and obedience to man-made rules versus God’s grace for salvation, and living in extreme separation from the world. A Christian character shares biblical truth with the Amish and the Raven’s crew members.